What is a Delay Tube + Pole Shoe Welding Machine?

In hydraulic magnetic circuit breaker production, the delay tube (oil cup) is built up in stages: the shell is filled with a metered dose of damping oil, and the plunger and spring are assembled inside. The final step is welding the pole shoe — the magnetic-circuit component — onto the filled shell to complete the subassembly. This step carries a particular risk profile: by the time the assembly reaches the welding station, it already contains its oil fill and internal parts, so any unit welded in an incomplete state is an expensive scrap. A delay tube + pole shoe welding machine automates the step with that risk in mind. Filled delay tubes arrive in positioning trays — the operator places full trays onto the infeed conveyor, and a cylinder-driven gripper transfers each tube to the welding station. Pole shoes are oriented and fed by a vibration bowl, then picked up by a vacuum system with an anti-drop design that keeps the small steel part secure through the transfer. Before any weld is executed, a detection station verifies that the spring is present inside the oil cup shell; only complete assemblies proceed. The weld itself is DC resistance welding, applying controlled weld energy to join the pole shoe to the shell. Because the trays match the matrix output of the upstream oil filling and assembly machine, the two machines connect into a continuous delay tube production cell. As a non-standard custom machine, the tray interface, gripper fixtures, electrode geometry, and welding parameters are engineered around your specific component drawings.